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COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

Sephardic Roots Fair Brings Student Ancestry to Life

Wednesday May 25th was a very exciting and fun-filled morning at Tichon Bnot Rachel High School. Under the leadership of Rabbi S. Maslaton, the freshman students organized and prepared an elaborate Sephardic Roots fair to complement their Sephardic Roots course. At the fair, the students applied the material they were taught throughout the year and literally “brought it to life.”

According to the Principal, Mrs. Leah Diskind, the Sephardic Roots course covers the background and history of our illustrious Middle-Eastern communities, highlighting our heritage as well as the Sephardic hachamimthroughout the ages. Through this course, the students gain a newfound appreciation of the culture of their ancestors.

Before the fair, the Sephardic Roots teacher, Mrs. Monique Mezrahi, divided the students into groups and assigned a different country for each to explore. They navigated through books, family interviews and grandparents’ closets, and watched their hard work blossom into magnificent displays. Mary Turkieh and Eden Kabariti produced a beautiful slide show depicting the various countries over time.

One particular student, Maya Attar, enthusiastically exclaimed that she is a direct descendant of the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh, Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar. “It was so amazing learning about my roots! I never realized that I have so much to be proud of,” said Maya. Comments like this were heard over and over again from students at every grade level as they viewed the beautiful displays and, with much pride, added many of theirown family’s legends.

SBH Honors Shaare Torah’s 6th Grade Boys

This past June, Sephardic Bikkur Holim presented Shaare Torah’s 6th grade boys with a well-deserved award. Committing a tremendous hesed,they raised money for a Bar Mitzvah boy in need. Because of their efforts, the Bar Mitzvah boy was able to buy a new pair of tefillin and have a wonderful Bar Mitzvah party. Hazuk U’Baruchto these boys for the initiative they showed!

Car Thief on the Loose

The man pictured here has allegedly been stealing from unlocked cars parked throughout the lower east streets of Brooklyn. In at least one case, he was seen stealing an actual car as well. Though his actions have been captured on security cameras, it is believed that he remains at large and continues to target unlocked cars, packages left on doorsteps, bicycles, and other neighborhood valuables. Anyone with information about this suspect should contact the 61st precinct (718) 627-6611 and Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

We remind all of our readers to keep their car doors locked at all times – even during daylight hours – and refrain from keeping valuables in their cars. Taking such precautions will Gd willing prevent more crime like this from happening in the future.

At the Ateres Chynka Hall in Brooklyn, a massive crowd celebrated the Dirshu siyumon Seder Nashimin the Daf Yomi cycle. The highlight of the event was thehadrandelivered by the Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe, shlit”a, followed by Kaddish recited by the Skulener Rebbe, shlit”a. His appearance was a rare treat and provided tremendous hizukto those in attendance. In the hadranhe praised the many b’nei Torah learning throughout America in spite of our galut. Guest speaker Rav Moshe Weinberger reiterated his feelings. “I feel small in front of the talmidei hachamimin this room who have invested so much toil and effort into their learning,” he said. HaRav Dovid Olewski, shlit”a, the Gerer Rosh Yeshiva, highlighted the domino effect that such learning has on a family. The hundreds of Dirshu wives in attendance were praised for sacrificing time with their husbands and transmitting a love of Torah to their children.

During the siyum, the memories of two women who showed tremendous mesirat nefeshduring the Holocaust were honored. They were the mother of Rav Leibish Langer of Yeshiva Darchei Torah and the mother of Rav Hofstedter, cousins who survived Auschwitz and the death march all because they’d saved their rations from Pesach rather than eat hametz. Together they ran from the line and escaped to the forest, where the Americans liberated them two days later. Rav Hofstedter exclaimed, “We are only here tonight at this siyumin the zechutof the mesirat nefeshof these two women.”

On Tuesday, May 31st, Magen David Yeshivah High School students attended an anti-BDS Summit at the United Nations. They heard from Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the UN, Ronald Lauder, CEO of World Jewish Congress, and Elyakim Rubenstein, Justice of the Israeli Supreme Court. They heard, too, from Son of Hamas, Mosab Youssef Hassan, who helped Israel prevent many suicide bombings. Finally, they listened to a speech by Danny Birnbaum, the CEO of Soda Stream, who encouraged the students to build bridges not boycotts. Matisyahu – who was once told he could not perform in Spain because he supports Israel – gave a meaningful concert. It was an uplifting day where Jews from around the world came together to be a source of support for each other in the fight against BDS and anti-Semitism.

Moisha’s Meat Department will continue to service customers heading to the Jersey Shore for the summer. They will be delivering to Deal, NJ three times a week in addition to the free home delivery they already offer in Brooklyn. Soon, customers will able to place their orders online on their new state-of-the-art website – and the options are endless! Moisha’s has a large selection of Bet Yosef meat under the strict supervision of Rabbi Moshe Cohen from the BYL. They also stock a full line of spring lamb, cuts of fresh veal, organic chicken and turkey, and special cuts like prime rib roast, flaken, surprise steak and fillet mignon. Customers with no time tocook can choose from an array of oven-ready items perfect for their next summer barbecue. Everything from kabobs and sliders to corned beef and baby chicken are available for purchase. As the seasons change and the weather warms, Moisha’s will be grantingweekly specials on top of their every day low prices. Their managers look forward to serving the community personally. Those in need of assistance can call the store at 718-336-7563 extension 4, and ask to speak to Shia or Chaim.

Volleyball Champions! Shulamith School for Girls Wins Again

Congratulations to Shulamith School for Girls, who have won the high school Volleyball Championship four years in a row! They had an incredible, undefeated season thanks to the leadership of CoachDalia Paris. Next year, with Miriam Halabani as Captain, B”H, Shulamith hopes to continue its great success.

Gesher Yehuda’s Bake Sale
is a Huge Success

On May 12th2016, Gesher Yehuda held its Annual Bake Sale and Chinese Auction at the home of Sari and Sammy Sutton. The beautiful event took place on Yom Haatazmautand had a fitting Israeli market theme.

The Bake Sale Committee, consisting of Annie Abadi, Stacie Cabasso, Eliane Chattah, Rebecca Harary, Rebecca Maleh, Shirley Mansour, Susan Salame, MargieSarway, Marjorie Sitt, Claudie Setton, and Pauline Wahba, worked tirelessly for the sake of the yeshivah. They spearheaded a lovely day: Lunch was cooked and displayed by volunteers, Rabbi David Ashear spoke in the morning and a healthy Israeli cooking demonstration by Paulina Ashkenazi (‘Holy Kale’) followed. Parents, staff, alumni and supporters of both Gesher Yehuda Yeshivah and Yeshivah Prep High School visited throughout the day.

Simultaneously, Gesher Yehuda students were having their own Yom Hatzamautcelebrations. First thing in the morning, the children walked into a school fully decorated in blue and white. They enjoyed an Israeli lunch of Falafel and Israeli salad, and ended the day by choosing from their very own ice cream truck. The ice cream,of course, had blue and white sprinkles. The festivities came a day after Yom Hazikaron(Israeli Remembrance Day) when the children stood for moments in silence while the alarm rang in remembrance of all those who were lost.

As this exciting month continued, Lag B’Omer was celebrated with a day at the park. Grades 1st– 7thenjoyed relay races while the kindergarten spent the morning in the park playground. All arrived back to the school for a delicious BBQ lunch prepared by the 8thgraders.

Gesher Yehuda thanks everyone who helped out with these events. They were truly a team effort!